Tubular conveyor with cleated belt

ABSTRACT

A conveyor comprising a support frame, an inclined tube mounted to the support frame, a hopper at a lower end of the tube for receiving material, a spout at an upper end of the tube for discharging the material, a running plate extending inside the tube, and a cleated belt, supported by the running plate, that conveys the material from the hopper to the spout through the tube. The cleated belt comprises a plurality of spaced-apart cleats and wherein each cleat has a base extending transversely to a direction of travel of the belt and curved sides that curve upwardly and outwardly from the base.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/137,406.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to belted conveyors and, moreparticularly, to inclined tube-type conveyors.

BACKGROUND

In the agricultural industry conveyors are used to move seed, grain orother bulk materials. Augers are typically used to move products likegrain and oil seeds, while belt conveyors are typically used for seedand delicate grains.

Belt tube conveyors typically have a conveyor belt with paddles orcleats to convey material from a hopper at a lower first end to a spoutat an upper second end. With conventional designs, the flexible beltcurls when passing through the tubular portion of the conveyor. A numberof technical problems exist with belt tube conveyors. One problem isthat material may flow backward, especially when the tube is inclined ata steep angle. In other words, it is challenging to achieve highcapacity at steep angles with prior-art technologies. Another problemthat arises with the prior-art technologies is cross-contamination ofseeds when switching from one type of seed to another.

In view of the foregoing, an improved conveyor would thus be highlydesirable.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a conveyor having a cleated belt.This conveyor is an inclined tubular conveyor having a tube throughwhich the cleated belt runs. This cleated belt has cleats (or paddles)with a cleat profile designed to fit inside a tube of the conveyor so asto minimize back flow of material. Although the conveyor is designedprimarily for conveying seed, the conveyor may be used or adapted toconvey other material, substances or products that have similar physicalor flow characteristics.

One inventive aspect of the present disclosure is a conveyor comprisinga support frame, an inclined tube mounted to the support frame, a hopperat a lower end of the tube for receiving material, a spout at an upperend of the tube for discharging the material, a running plate extendinginside the tube, and a cleated belt, supported by the running plate,that conveys the material from the hopper to the spout through the tube.The cleated belt comprises a plurality of spaced-apart cleats andwherein each cleat has a base extending transversely to a direction oftravel of the belt and curved sides that curve upwardly and outwardlyfrom the base.

Another inventive aspect of the present disclosure is a method ofconveying material. The method generally entails loading the materialinto a hopper, conveying the material up a tubular conveyor having atube and a cleated belt running over a running plate in the tube,wherein the cleated belt comprises a plurality of spaced-apart cleatsand wherein each cleat has a base extending transversely to a directionof travel of the belt and curved sides that curve upwardly and outwardlyfrom the base, and discharging the material from a spout at an upper endof the tube.

Another inventive aspect of the present disclosure is a belt with acanvas finish on both sides and a plurality of spaced-apart cleatsintegrally formed with the canvas belt, wherein each cleat has a baseextending transversely to a direction of travel of the belt and curvedsides that curve upwardly and outwardly from the base.

A further inventive aspect of the present disclosure is a conveyorhaving a support frame, an inclined tube mounted to the support frame, acleated belt that conveys the material from the hopper through the tubeand a hopper at a lower end of the tube for receiving material, whereinthe hopper comprises a cleanout unit with a detachable cover that isdetachably mounted to the hopper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present technology will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in combinationwith the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an inclined tubular conveyor in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a tube of the tubular conveyorshowing the tube and running plate profile;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a cleated belt in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the cleated belt taken throughsection A-A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the cleated belt;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of one cleat of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the paddle spout assembly;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the paddle spout assembly;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a belt guide plate;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the plate;

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of a hopper/cleanout assembly;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the cleanout of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of the hopper/cleanout assembly;

FIG. 14 is a front view of the hopper/cleanout assembly;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken through section B-B in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an isometric view of the cleanout unit with detachable cover;

FIG. 17 is a side view of the cleanout unit with detachable cover; and

FIG. 18 is a front view of the cleanout unit with detachable cover.

It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like featuresare identified by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts an inclined tubular conveyor, generally designated byreference numeral 10, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

The conveyor 10 includes a support frame 12, which may have wheels 14 asshown by way of example in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the conveyor may be afixed structure without wheels. The frame supports an inclined tube 20.A material-conveying belt carries material up the incline through thetube, as will be explained in greater detail below. The belt is acontinuous loop driven by a drive pulley. An idler or roller is providedto support the belt. The drive pulley may be disposed near the top ofthe conveyor and the idler near the bottom of the conveyor or viceversa. The drive pulley is driven directly or indirectly by a motor,which may be a hydraulic motor, gasoline motor, electric motor, etc. Thetube 20 may be permanently or detachably mounted to the support frame12. The tube 20 may be attached at a fixed angle or it may be adjustablein angle. In one specific embodiment, the tube is adjustable in anglefrom 22 to 45 degrees, although other angle ranges may be possible inother embodiments. The conveyor may be a towed conveyor as shown in thisfigure or it may be a self-propelled conveyor. The conveyor may also beintegrated within another agricultural product-handling vehicle orsystem.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the conveyor includes a hopper 30 (or hopperassembly) at a lower end of the tube 20 for receiving material such asseed.

As further depicted in FIG. 1, the conveyor includes a spout 40 at anupper end of the tube 20 for discharging the material.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the tube 20 of the tubular conveyor10. This figure shows the tube and running plate profile. The runningplate 50 extends inside the tube, acting like a floor, platform orsupport for the portion of the belt moving up the inclined tube. Therunning plate 50 acts as a false bottom in the tube to keep the centralportion of the belt substantially flat while traversing the tube. Thecentral portion may be understood as the portion spanned by the base ofthe paddle that runs over the running plate 50. The sides of the beltcurl as the belt passes through the tube. However, only the sides curl,not the entire belt, which is to be contrasted with certain prior-arttechnologies such as, for example, the ones disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,170,646 (Kaeb et al) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,221 (Burkitt et al.) inwhich the entire belt curls. By allowing only the sides to curl, therunning plate 50 minimizes belt wear and maximizes product-conveyingcapacity. The running plate also maximizes product conveying capacity byraising up the belt, so the paddles travel up the tube at (or at leastnear) the tube's widest section. The running plate also has the effectof minimizing product leakage or backflow. It is to be noted that thereturn portion of the belt moving back down toward the hopper travelsoutside the tube and substantially parallel to the inclined tube.

In one embodiment, a width Wp of the running plate represents 50-70% ofa diameter of the tube. In one specific embodiment, the width Wp of therunning plate represents 60% of a diameter D of the tube. In one testedembodiment, which yielded excellent performance, the outer diameter D ofthe tube was 10 inches (25.4 cm) and the inner diameter 9.85 inches(25.0 cm), the width Wp of the plate was 6 inches (15.2 cm) so that theplate was at a plate height Hp of 1% inches (3.2 cm) above the bottom ofthe tube.

FIG. 3 a top view showing a cleated belt 60. The cleated belt 60 issupported by the running plate 50. The cleated belt 60 conveys thematerial from the hopper to the spout through the tube 20. The cleatedbelt comprises a plurality of spaced-apart cleats 62. The spaced-apartcleats are equally spaced-apart in the illustrated embodiment although adifferent spacing pattern may be provided in other embodiments. As shownby way of example in FIG. 3, each cleat 62 extends (is disposed)transversely to the belt 60, i.e. transversely or orthogonally to adirection of travel (or direction of conveyance) of the belt. Each cleat62 has a base 64 which is also traverse or orthogonal to a direction oftravel of the belt. Note that in the illustrated embodiment, the cleats(paddles) do not extend across the entire width of the belt but ratheronly across a portion of the belt width. In the illustrated embodiment,the cleat extends over less than ⅔ of the width of the belt. In oneembodiment, the ratio of the belt width to the tube diameter is 3:2. Inone tested embodiment, which yielded excellent results, the belt had awidth of 15 inches (38.1 cm) and the tube an outer diameter D of 10inches (25.4 cm) and an inner diameter of 9.85 inches (25.0 cm).

In one embodiment, the belt is two-ply canvas belt and the cleats arerubber or rubber-like. In one embodiment, the cleats are molded directlyinto the canvas belt. Although the molded cleats are integrally formedor molded into the canvas belt, other manufacturing techniques may beused to attach the cleats to the belt in other embodiments. The two-plycanvas belt may, in other embodiments, be replaced with a single-plycanvas belt, a multi-ply canvas belt (having more than 2 plies). Thecanvas belt may also be replaced, in other embodiments, with a fabricbelt made of another type of fabric-like material.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cleated belt taken throughsection A-A in FIG. 3. Each cleat 60 has curved sides 66 that curveupwardly and outwardly from the base 64. These sides 66 work inconjunction with the curled side portions of the belt to substantiallymatch the inner curvature of the tube so as to provide a substantiallysealed fit between the paddles and the inner wall of the tube. Thisdesign minimizes backflow of material, thereby maximizing throughput orcapacity.

As illustrated by way of example in FIG. 4, each of the curved sides 66has a first radius of curvature R1 curving from the base to acurvature-transition point CTP and a second radius of curvature R2curving from the curvature-transition point CTP to a top of the cleat68. In the illustrated embodiment, the second radius of curvature R2 isgreater than the first radius of curvature R1. In another embodiment,there may be only a single radius of curvature. In yet anotherembodiment, there may be more than two radii of curvature.

Tests performed on an embodiment having a 15-inch (38.1 cm) wide 2-plycanvas belt with 3-inch (7.6 cm) high rubber paddles spaced 12 inches(30.5 cm) apart yielded excellent results with a paddle profile having abase width of 5.20 inches (13.2 cm), a top width of 9.12 inches (23.16cm), R1 of 1.50 inches (3.81 cm), R2 of 4.38 inches (11.13 cm). Becausethe width of the tested belt was 15 inches (38.1 cm), the width of eachside portion (measured from the outer top edge of the cleat to the edgeof the belt) was 2.94 inches (7.46 cm) in the tested embodiment.

In one embodiment, a width of the base of each cleat is less than awidth of the running plate. In one specific embodiment, a ratio of thewidth of the base to the width of the running plate is 13:15. Testsperformed on an embodiment having a 5.2-inch (13.2 cm) wide base and a6-inch (15.2 cm) wide running plate yielded excellent results.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the cleated belt 60. In one embodiment, aspacing between adjacent paddles is three to five times a height of eachpaddle. In one specific embodiment, which is illustrated in FIG. 5, thespacing between adjacent paddles is four times a height of each paddle.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of one cleat of FIG. 5. In theillustrated embodiment, the cleat is a one-piece rubberized orelastomeric paddle, although in other embodiments, the cleat may beassembled or manufactured from multiple components. The base of eachcleat (paddle) may be filleted on the leading and trailing paddle facesas shown, i.e. the cleat has a fillet or rounded corner on front andrear faces to attach to the belt. In the tested embodiment, the filletshad a radius of curvature Rf of 0.63 inches (1.59 cm) although otherradii may be utilized. In one embodiment, a height Hc of each cleat isbetween 40 and 60% of the width Wp of the running plate. In one specificembodiment, the height Hc of each cleat is half the width Wp of therunning plate.

Tests performed on an embodiment having a 6-inch (15.2 cm) wide runningplate and 3-inch (7.6 cm) high cleats with a cleat spacing of 12 inches(30.5 cm) on a 15-inch (30.5 cm) wide belt running in a 10-inch (25.4cm) tube yielded excellent results.

These tests suggest that good results may also be obtained using cleatswith a base width less than a width of the running plate, andfurthermore wherein the width of the running plate represents 50-70% ofa diameter of the tube and wherein a height of each cleat is between 40and 60% of the width of the running plate.

In one embodiment, each paddle (cleat) 62 has a tapered profile(cross-section) that tapers upwardly and terminates in a rounded top 69as shown in this figure. In the tested embodiment, the tapered profileis characterized by a lower width WP1 of 0.64 inches (1.63 cm) at apoint where the base merges into the upper portion of the paddletapering to an upper width WP2 of 0.34 inches (0.87 cm) near the top ofthe paddle (where the paddle begins to curve to form its rounded top).It will be appreciated that some variability in these paddle dimensionsmay also yield good results.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the spout 40 (also referred to as the“paddle spout assembly” or “paddle spout”). The spout 40 of the conveyor10 discharges the material (e.g. seed, grain or other such substance)from the belt. The spout 40 may include a pair of belt guide plates 43(or wear plates) to seal the belt as it moves through the spout. Inother words, the plates 43 substantially prevent seed or other materialfrom returning on the return portion of the belt.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the spout 40 (or “paddle spout assembly” or“spout assembly”). The spout 40 includes one cylindrical roller (or“paddle roller”) 41, one tubular spout (or “paddle spout unit”) 42, thetwo belt guide plates 43 mentioned in the paragraph above, two bearingunits 44, four paddle spout retainer plates 45, and two paddle spouttightener plates 46. As further depicted by way of example in FIG. 7 andFIG. 8, a top cover 47 may be provided to cover the end portion of thebelt. The top cover 47 may be detachably secured for removal formaintenance or cleaning. An outlet hood 48 may also be provided tofunnel and discharge the material from the end of the conveyor in adesired direction. In the illustrated embodiment, the outlet hood 48 isangled downwardly and rearwardly at substantially a 45-degree angle tothe tube such that, when the tube is inclined at 45 degrees, the outletpoints vertically downward.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are front and side views, respectively, of the belt guideplate 43. In one embodiment, this belt guide plate 43 is made of apolymer. The belt guide plates 43 seal the cleated belt 60 as thecleated belt 60 moves past the belt guide plates 43. The belt guideplates 43 seals the cleated belt 60 so that there is substantially nomaterial, or at least only a minimal amount of material, on the returnportion of the belt traveling back down toward the hopper.

FIG. 11 is an isometric exploded (or assembly) view of a hopper 30 (or“hopper assembly”) that includes a hopper receptacle 31 for receivingmaterial such as seed or grain and a cleanout unit with detachable cover32 (also referred to as a “cleanout weldment”). The hopper receptacle 31and cleanout unit detachable cover 32 may also be referred to as ahopper/cleanout assembly and for simplicity is denoted by the samereference 30 as the hopper or hopper assembly. The hopper receptacle 31is connected via aperture 31 a to the tube 20 or to a tube extensionthat connects to the tube 20. The cleated belt 60 (with its cleats 62 orpaddles) runs around a lower-end roller that is enshrouded or covered bythe cleanout unit with a detachable cover 32.

As shown by way of example in FIG. 11, the cleanout detachable cover 32i is a cover, cap or shroud that is detachable from the cleanout unit atits lower end, i.e. around the lower end roller of the conveyor. Thecleanout detachable cover 32 i may be detached from the cleanout unit toenable removal of material that may clog up the conveyor. The cleanoutunit with a detachable cover 32 makes cleaning the hopper easy with verylittle chance of cross contamination of seed when changing from one typeof seed to a different type of seed.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged exploded view of the hopper/cleanout assembly 30of FIG. 11. The cleanout unit with a detachable cover 32 may be agenerally U-shaped cover as shown in this embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows the fully assembled hopper/cleanout assembly 30 with thelowermost end of the cleated belt enshrouded or covered by the cleanoutunit with a detachable cover 32 as it loops around the lower-end roller.FIG. 14 is a front view of the hopper/cleanout assembly 30. This figuresillustrates that the cleanout unit with a detachable cover 32 isnarrower than the width of the hopper receptacle 31, thereby definingtwo equal gaps of spaces on each side of the cover unit. FIG. 15 is asectional view taken through section B-B in FIG. 14 showing how thecleated belt 60 passes inside the curved path defined by the U-shapedcover unit 32. As depicted in FIG. 15, there is a small clearance gapbetween the cleats 62 and the inner curved surface of the cleanout unitwith a detachable cover 32. Due to the constant curvature of both theconveyor at the lower-end roller and the inner surface of the cleanoutunit with a detachable cover 32, this clearance gap remainssubstantially constant for the entire path through the cleanout unitwith a detachable cover 32.

As shown in FIGS. 12-15, a lower end roller 33 is mounted on a rollershaft 34 which is rotationally mounted on bearings (e.g. ball bearing orroller bearing) within bearing units 35. The bearing units 35 aremounted by nuts 36 and carriage bolts 37 to side walls (or side plates)38 of the hopper/cleanout assembly 30. The lower end roller 33 may be adrive roller or an idler (passive roller). The roller 33 sits within apair of slots 39 formed within the side plates 38.

FIGS. 16-18 are isometric, side and front views of one embodiment of thecleanout unit with a detachable cover 32. As noted above, this coverunit 32 may be referred to as a cleanout weldment, particularly forembodiments in which the cleanout cover unit is an assembly of weldedmetal components. As depicted by way of example in FIGS. 16-18, thecleanout unit with a detachable cover 32 includes a pair of rubber,rubber-like or elastomeric skirts 32 a mounted to respectiveskirt-retaining plates 32 b. The skirt-retaining plates 32 b aresupported by two spaced-apart curved side plates 32 c which are, inturn, joined together by a top plate 32 d and a bottom plate 32 e. Apair of side spacers 32 f extend laterally along the curved side plates32 c. A pair of top mount plates 32 g and a pair of bottom mount plates32 h extend from the edges of the spacers 32 f to provide mountingpoints for mounting (attaching or fastening) the cleanout unit with adetachable cover 32 to the side walls (or side plates) 38 of the hopperreceptacle 31. The top mount plates 32 g and the bottom mount plates 32h attach to the side plates of the hopper receptacle above and below aplane defined by the roller shaft 34 and carriage bolts 37.

This novel conveyor provides a number of advantages over the prior art.The conveyor can achieve a capacity of 3000 bushels/hour (106 cubicmeters per hour) at a 40-degree incline and a belt speed of 440 ft/min(136 meters/min). The novel cleat profile enables the cleated belt tooperate effectively and efficiently in a 10-inch (25.4 cm) tube. Thenovel cleat profile also seals on the edges of the belt so there aresubstantially no (or very minimal) gaps against the tube interior.

The novel conveyor may be used to perform a novel method of conveyingmaterial. This method entails loading the material into a hopper,conveying the material up a tubular conveyor having a tube and a cleatedbelt running over a running plate in the tube. The cleated beltcomprises a plurality of spaced-apart cleats and wherein each cleat hasa base extending transversely to a direction of travel of the belt andcurved sides that curve upwardly and outwardly from the base. The methodalso includes discharging the material from a spout at an upper end ofthe tube. Conveying the material may involve using a canvas belt withrubber cleats. Edges of the canvas belt may fold when the belt runsthrough the tube such that the curved sides of the cleats match theinside curvature of the tube to convey the material up the conveyor. Themethod may further involve sealing the belt using a pair of belt guideplates at the spout.

The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to beexemplary only. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in theart, to whom this specification is addressed, many obvious variations,modifications, and refinements can be made to the embodiments presentedherein without departing from the inventive concept(s) disclosed herein.The scope of the exclusive right sought by the applicant(s) is thereforeintended to be limited solely by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A conveyor comprising: a support frame; aninclined tube mounted to the support frame; a hopper at a lower end ofthe tube for receiving material; a spout at an upper end of the tube fordischarging the material; a running plate extending inside the tube; anda cleated belt, supported by the running plate, that conveys thematerial from the hopper to the spout through the tube, wherein thecleated belt comprises a plurality of spaced-apart cleats and whereineach cleat has a base extending transversely to a direction of travel ofthe belt and curved sides that continuously curve upwardly and outwardlyfrom the base to a top of the cleat that is wider than the base, whereinthe running plate supports a portion of the belt moving up the inclinedtube such that the belt runs upwardly over an upper surface of therunning plate, and wherein the running plate has a width less than adiameter of the inclined tube.
 2. The conveyor as claimed in claim 1wherein the belt is two-ply canvas and wherein the cleats are rubber,and wherein the cleats are molded directly into the belt.
 3. Theconveyor as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the curved sides has afirst radius of curvature curving from the base to acurvature-transition point and a second radius of curvature curving fromthe curvature-transition point to the top of the cleat, wherein thesecond radius of curvature is greater than the first radius ofcurvature.
 4. The conveyor as claimed in claim 3 wherein: a width of thebase of each cleat is less than the width of the running plate; thewidth of the running plate represents 50-70% of the diameter of thetube; and a height of each cleat is between 40 and 60% of the width ofthe running plate.
 5. The conveyor as claimed in claim 1 wherein a widthof the base of each cleat is less than the width of the running plate.6. The conveyor as claimed in claim 5 wherein a ratio of the width ofthe base to the width of the running plate is 13:15.
 7. The conveyor asclaimed in claim 1 wherein a height of each cleat is half the width ofthe running plate.
 8. The conveyor as claimed in claim 1 wherein thewidth of the running plate represents 50-70% of the diameter of thetube.
 9. The conveyor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the width of therunning plate represents 60% of the diameter of the tube.
 10. Theconveyor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hopper comprises a cleanoutunit with a detachable cover that is detachably mounted over a lower endof the cleated belt.
 11. The conveyor as claimed in claim 1 wherein aspacing between adjacent cleats is three to five times a height of eachcleat.
 12. The conveyor as claimed in claim 1 wherein a spacing betweenadjacent cleats is four times a height of each cleat.
 13. A method ofconveying material, the method comprising: loading the material into ahopper; conveying the material up a tubular conveyor having an inclinedtube and a cleated belt running over a running plate in the tube,wherein the cleated belt comprises a plurality of spaced-apart cleatsand wherein each cleat has a base extending transversely to a directionof travel of the belt and curved sides that continuously curve upwardlyand outwardly from the base to a top of the cleat that is wider than thebase, wherein the running plate supports a portion of the belt moving upthe inclined tube such that the belt runs upwardly over an upper surfaceof the running plate and wherein the running plate has a width less thana diameter of the inclined tube; and discharging the material from aspout at an upper end of the inclined tube.
 14. The method as claimed inclaim 13 wherein edges of the belt fold when the belt runs through thetube such that the curved sides of the cleats match the inside curvatureof the tube to convey the material up the conveyor.
 15. A cleated beltfor a conveyor, the belt comprising: a canvas belt; and a plurality ofspaced-apart cleats integrally formed with the canvas belt; wherein eachcleat has a base extending transversely to a direction of travel of thebelt and curved sides that continuously curve upwardly and outwardlyfrom the base to a top of the cleat that is wider than the base, whereina spacing between adjacent cleats is three to five times a height ofeach cleat; wherein each of the curved sides has a first radius ofcurvature curving from the base to a curvature-transition point and asecond radius of curvature curving from the curvature-transition pointto the top of the cleat, wherein the second radius of curvature isgreater than the first radius of curvature.
 16. The cleated belt asclaimed in claim 15 wherein the belt is two-ply canvas and wherein thecleats are rubber, and wherein the cleats are molded directly into thebelt.